A Warrior's Touch
by Adrianno
Summary: Riven has spent the past 6 years exiled as a mercenary trying to make a name for herself. She has finally been inducted into the League of Legends. Though loneliness grips her heart firmly, she sees the League as a means to start her life over.
1. Riven's Induction

_Note: This will be my very first time as an author (I'm inexperienced, constructive criticism is very welcome.), and a user of this site, so please be patient as I figure this out. This story will not be 100% true to the lore of the game. This will be Rated M for violence, language, and eventually, sexual content._

Six years ago, a young girl, only Fourteen, stood before the Noxian council, appealing for her insubordination to lead a small unit into an Ionian village during the war, and slaughter them all. She had pleaded that they were nothing but innocent farmers and blacksmiths, not a single warrior among them, so there was no reason to kill them. Despite her pleas, the Noxian council found her guilty, shattering the blade the nation had given her, and had her exiled for life. She left her home in tears, betrayed by the people she swore to protect and serve. She became a mercenary to keep her stomach full and hone her skills. She traveled alone from place to place constantly seeking work, as few would trust a Noxian at her age.

It had been Six Years since she was exiled, and she was just now finding a place to call home. A home in the League of Legends Institute of War. With her blade, still broken after all these years, on her hip, she marched up as she approached the large walls that surrounded the Institute of War. As the wind blew, she pushed her frosty white hair out of her face and behind her ear. A small smile grew on the woman's face, replacing the sleep deprived look she normally wore, as she laid eyes on it. '_It's as gorgeous as they say'_ she thought. The smile quickly disappeared, and she continued walking to the gates.

"Halt!" One of the guards ordered. She did as was told. "Who are you and why are you here?" The guard demanded.

"I have come under the summons of the Institute of War." She held up an official scroll directly from the League. After a moment of inspecting the scroll, the guard turned his head to his companions and nodded. The gates rose, clanking all the way up until a loud thud indicated it was wide open. It revealed a bustling town filled with the sounds horse-drawn carriages, loud chatter, hammers smacking anvils, and the laughter of children.

"Go ahead, continue straight down this road and go to the inner walls, I'm sure they are expecting you soon." He told her.

"Thank you." The woman said as she slowly walked through the center road of the town, filled with restaurants, blacksmiths, clothing stores, and other services a champion of the league would ever need. Her eyes trained on the larger inner walls that separated the town from the Institute of War, she avoided the many glares of the townsfolk that burned away at her.

She eagerly approached the gates, and as she did, A projection of a hooded man appeared in front of her. "What do you go by?" The projection asked.

"My name is Riven." She responded blandly. The projection disappeared, and after a short wait the gates opened, revealing the large compound known as the Institute of War. She marched up the stone steps and pushed the large double doors, twice as tall as her, open.

She entered a very large room that had 5 pathways. A primary pathway, barred by a set of doors identical to the ones she had just passed through, and 4 smaller pathways that lead elsewhere that had no doors barring the way.

A few champions she had heard about were wandering through, and as they noticed Riven, merely glared at her for a few moments while continuing to their destinations. She could see Lux, and Ezreal walking side by side talking to each other. Nasus strode by as he walked out the front door, merely glancing at Riven for a brief moment. Nami swam through the air as she started down one of the passages to the right. And finally, there was Katarina, who upon seeing Riven, smiled as she changed her course to meet Riven.

"I didn't know they were allowing rejects into the League these days." Katarina said condescendingly. Riven's eyebrows tensed for a moment, but kept her gaze on the large doors in front of her. "Please. I do not wish to start a feud." Riven pleaded. "A feud!?" Katarina burst into laughter "Your feud was finished long ago. Quite unfortunate that someone with such skills had to be so spineless."

"Anyone who would mercilessly slaughter unarmed civilians are the only people who are spineless in this world, now if you would excuse me-" Katarina instantly interrupted Riven by grabbing her collar "No! Those who would willingly disobey the people they swore to serve are worse than spineless!" She yelled as her grip tightened.

Riven spoke no more, knowing further instigation would lead to conflict, she maintained her stoic expression. Katarina smiled knowing she had won "Well, I wish I could stick around, but I have things to do. See you around, sweetheart." Katarina said as she shoved Riven back and walked away. '_I look forward to it' _Riven thought to herself.

Away from Katarina's clutches, Riven approached the doors in front of her and threw them open. Inside, lie the small council of five of the League itself. It was a dim room, with only light being emitted from four blue colored torches on the wall. She walked to the center of the room and knelt, waiting to be acknowledged.

"Riven." Spoke the head councilman "We're delighted you have decided to join us. You may rise." "Thank you, it is quite an honor." Riven said as she rose. Silence fell for a moment before the man once again spoke up. "This is your home now, but unfortunately we are quite busy, so this will be a quicker induction than usual. I will show you your new home, where you will be staying, where you can eat, buy armor or weapons, train, study, spar, and finally where you will be summoned." The man's hands rose to a sphere that lie directly in front of him.

Images began to flood into Riven's mind as she closed her eyes. An image of the room she had just passed through presented itself. "_Here is the Main Hall, where the four sections of the Institute of War meet. There are four sections in this compound, The passage to the far right lead to the library, where you can find spell books of the highest magnitude down to simple history books. You are free to take a book for as long as you like as long as you return it when you are finished." _She could see bookcases thrice her size filled to the brim with books at every wall.

_"This wing is also where we house the champions themselves." _the voice in her head spoke as her view ran down a long corridor with doors that had a four digit number on the front every Fifty feet or so, leading to the rooms the champions lived in. _"The rooms are plenty spacious, and are soundproof to keep noise distraction to a minimum." _Her mind pictured a door with the number "9267" on it. _"And this, is where you will be staying, Riven." _The door opened to reveal quite a luxurious room lit by candles. A cozy bed with white sheets and red blankets, a large study desk and a large red seat in front of it, on the walls were armor and weapon racks for storage, and a door to the left of the room which opened to reveal a full sized bathroom.

Her mind was quickly brought back to the Main Hall. _"To the inner right passage leads to the summoning pads, where you will be summoned to fight on the Fields of Justice." _The summoning pad wasn't very impressive, it looked identical to the pad on Summoner's Rift lit by a few blue colored torches. _"When you fight on the Fields of Justice, you will receive a reward for your duty, how much it sums up to is determined by victory or defeat."_ Her mind quickly snapped back to the Main Hall. _"down the inner left passage lie the sparring rooms." _She saw many large rooms of a dojo style line the walls on either side. _"Here, Champions can practice and hone their skills against other Champions, whether as friendly competition or as a grudge match, the sparring rooms are encouraged to be used to settle most conflict with other Champions."_

Back at the Main Hall yet again, she grew anxious. Riven's journey left her weary, so naturally she wanted to rest. _"Finally, down the outer left passage is the League's Study. In this room, Champions, new and old, learn more about the Fields of Justice." _She saw large tables with the map of Summoner's Rift on it. _"If you are to be a formidable champion you must master everything there is about the Fields of Justice, you can work with others or by yourself to hatch ideas and bring forth new strategies." _Her view switched to that of the town outside the gates. _"Outside the walls lie the many shops that will fill your needs, whether its armor, weapons, food, or anything else you seek, you will find it within the town." _With that, her mind went blank and the images disappeared.

She opened her eyes to see the council once again. "We have shown you everything there is to show about this magnificent place. However, the rest is for you to discover." The head councilman spoke. "I understand." Riven replied. "Do you have any questions for us?" The councilman asked her. "I do not." Riven said boldly. "Then welcome to the League of Legends. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to approach us and ask."

"Thank you very much." Riven said as she bowed. She turned for the exit to go get herself set up in her room. Without a word from either of them, she left the presence of the council feeling worn out, but at the same time, stronger. She marched out the doors and down to the Champion Rooms. She walked down eager to find her room as she turned down through a large passage that made a sudden left. Where the corridor had made a sudden left lie the Library to the right. Down the left the corridor was lined with hallways stretching out to either side filled with the room doors.

She caught on to a pattern, The first number of every door was the number 'Nine', while the second number indicated the hallway numbers, followed by the last two digits being room numbers down the halls 'Forty-Nine' and down to 'Twenty-Five' was to the left, and 'Fifty' to 'Seventy-Five' were to the right.

She walked down to the 2nd hallway and made a right, continuing down until she saw it. '9267' She jiggled the doorknob. It was locked. Instinctively, Riven checked her pocket, and found a key that was not there before, '9267' was inscribed on it. _'They must have conjured it while i was seeing the vision.' _She thought to herself.

She unlocked it and went inside, closing the door behind her, and immediately walked over to the bed and sat on it. She grabbed the hilt of her broken blade and drew it, staring at it for a few moments before storing it on the weapon rack to her right. It was only just starting to get dark but Riven was exhausted.

She climbed into the right side of her bed, and tucked herself under the covers. _'Tomorrow, I will begin to train like never before, and meet a few champions.'_ A very familiar pain began to grip Riven's heart. Riven knew instantly what it was. Loneliness. She had been completely alone for 6 years, and the pain in her heart reminded her of that every night. She swallowed the now familiar lump in her throat as tears began to form. _'Yes, I will finally be able to start my life over.' _She thought to herself as she smiled, and closed her eyes to rest. As usual, the pain she carried within her made it difficult to sleep.

Although Riven appeared to be a strong and independent woman to everyone who saw her, Riven was always reminded how torn apart and deserted she felt each night. Her expression grew grim, a frown appeared, her eyebrows clenched together, and she opened her eyes that ached with weight and sadness to let the thoughts flow through. Her burdened eyes staring intently to the floor on the right side of her bed, her mind wandered over how she was treated the past six years. Ignored, and cast aside.

_Everywhere she went people would glare daggers at her, and she always felt out of place. Only months after she was exiled, she began to crave social interaction, and crave a friend. Just one. Nobody would oblige her, as only her employers and direct co-workers she happened to be working with would even speak to her. Even they would speak to her as if nothing more than a pawn to be toyed with. Years later the desire for friendship only grew stronger, yet people seemed to hate her more than ever, for no particular reason. Many of her employers withheld the reward promised after she had completed her mission. Many nights were spent alone, cold, and hungry, and even beggars would look at her with disgust. Eventually, as Riven slowly convinced herself this was the world outside of Noxus, Riven also convinced herself she didn't need anyone in her life, but her heart always disagreed with her, and it plagued the proud warrior daily. __  
_

_'I managed to survive excruciating pain daily for six years and walk out the other side sane. Don't lose it on the last night, keep it together.' _Riven thought as tears were dripping sideways down her face, maintaining the grim expression that screamed with the pain that tormented her. She turned over, wiped the tears from her face, grabbed the pillow that was next to the pillow she was laying her head on, brought it in front of her, and embraced it. It bothered Riven greatly that this was the closest she had to having a friend embrace and comfort her. Though it upset her, it also brought her great comfort at the same time, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Little did she know that things were about to get worse.


	2. First Day in the League

_Note: Thank you to everyone who gave me some advice, and I tried my best while writing this chapter to heed the advice given. Let me know what you think, good or bad! Thanks guys. :)_

Riven stirred slowly as she crawled out of her deep slumber. As she opened her eyes slowly she smiled as she felt very pleased to feel the, almost foreign, refreshing warmth of a good night's sleep. She felt incredible as she threw the covers off her warm body. _'The first day of my new life.'_ she thought with a smile as she tossed her legs over the side of the bed and stood tall, stretching her figure to work out the kinks that formed as she slept. She looked over to her broken blade. She excitedly gripped it and fastened it to her hip, and after a moment to touch up her hair, she walked out the door to start her first day at the Institute of War.

Her stomach growled at her, and she thought before anything else that she would find something nice to eat, and treat herself nicely to a fancy dish at a restaurant in town. She started walking toward the center corridor, and started walking toward the Main Hall. As she rounded the corner at the Library, she bumped into someone at full force. The two feminine bodies were knocked back by the sudden collision. Riven nervously apologized before she even knew who it was. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there, are you alright?" She asked. It was then she realized who it was.

It was Shyvana, who glared angrily at her for several moments before continuing down the corridor past Riven. "Watch where you're going next time. Filthy Noxian." Shyvana said angrily as she muttered the last part seemingly to herself, but Riven heard her, and looked behind her at Shyvana. Riven thought nothing of it, as Shyvana was known to be a fierce and proud Demacian warrior, who hated all Noxians.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior, she doesn't take kindly to Noxians." A deep and powerful voice said. Riven turned to find Jarvan in front of her, wearing his golden armor like he always did.

"It's fine, it was an accident. Who are you?" Although Riven already knew the answer, she asked simply for the sake of having a conversation.

"My name is Jarvan IV, Exemplar of Demacia." He said boldly with a serious look on his face.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jarvan. My name is-" Riven said eagerly before being cut off.

"Riven. Yes, _everyone_ knows who you are, and what you did. I won't hold it against you, however." The man explained confidently. A moment of silence as Riven was shocked to find that even Demacian royalty had known who she was. "As much as I would love to chat, Riven, I have pressing matters to attend to, mostly revolving around that woman you bumped into." He said, and before Riven could ask what he meant by his first statement, he was gone.

_'What could he mean by he didn't hold it against me?' _Riven pondered. Riven thought about it for a moment and concluded there was nothing she did for a Demacian to hold against her in the first place. Her stomach growled, derailing her train of thought. She continued walking down the corridor to the Main Hall, and exited through the large double doors. The sounds of the busy town grew with every step as she walked towards them.

As Riven walked through town, she examined how much weight she had to her coin purse. It was heavier than normal, but she ultimately decided that she couldn't treat herself to the exquisite meal she had desired earlier that morning. She ended up buying a couple apples from an elderly woman with a small merchant stall. To no surprise the elderly woman was seemingly deathly afraid of her, but Riven thought nothing of it, as she was used to it.

After the apples were nothing more than cores, she tossed them into a small trash can at the side of the road, searching for an opponent to spar with to begin her training. She came across a few champions from the League who could offer her a challenge in the streets of the town.

Talon was the first she saw, although Talon was Noxian, he was a master of the blade. Riven immediately walked up to him. When Riven issued her offer to Talon, He did nothing. He never even acknowledged her presence, or batted an eye. Talon completely ignored Riven, and continued to wherever it was he was going.

She saw Gangplank buying oranges from a merchant stall, and she approached him to offer a sparring match. Gangplank merely stared at her with wide open eyes until he burst into his obnoxious laughter. He continued to laugh, until Riven decided to leave, hearing his laughter even after she was long gone.

The last person, saw Riven first. Riven could hear the clank of heavily armored footsteps behind her, and she immediately felt uneasy. She turned around, her eyes widened as she looked into the smirk of the one and only Darius. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite traitor. I've heard you're looking for someone to spar with." Darius said as he folded his arms to his chest.

Riven knew that Darius was far too powerful for her to face, that and Darius was known to "accidentally" severely injure people in his sparring matches occasionally. "That's not true." Riven told him, trying to flat out lie to him.

"Then why is it that you were so eager to spar with Talon?" Darius said as he raised one eyebrow. "I'll spar with you, I might even give you a traitor's death if you come with me."

_'This isn't good at all' _Riven thought to herself. She knew she had to get out of there, and away from Darius. "I do not wish to spar with you." She responded as she tried to calmly walk away from him. As she did she felt a tug from behind.

Darius pulled her by the arm, swung her around, picked her up off her feet with one hand gripping her collar, and slammed her to the ground in a cloud of dust. "Listen here, little lady," Darius shadowed over her, looking into her eyes menacingly. "You will fight me one way or another, whether out here to the death, or in the civilized confines of the sparring room, it's your choice."

Riven had to get out of this, but there was no way she could match his brute strength. "Fine, I agree to a sparring match." Riven said with a hint of sadness. She knew this wouldn't end well.

"Wise decision. Let's get on with it then." Darius said as he picked up Riven effortlessly with one arm and threw her over his shoulder, marching toward the Institute of War. "You try to escape, you die." He ordered simply.

Once they had reached the sparring rooms, Darius tossed her to the ground. Darius drew his axe, and Riven drew her blade after she got on her feet. To her surprise, Darius tossed his axe to the side of the room. "I'll even go easy and use only my hands." He said provocatively. "You aren't seriously going to use that ruined blade on me, are you?"

Riven decided it would be best to hide her true strength, and just get it over with. "It's my choice of weapon, not yours." She glared back at him, filling with anger as he laughed at her.

Riven charged at Darius full speed, striking to her right, before feinting, bounding behind him, and striking at his back. Darius moved much quicker than she thought he could with his heavy armor, spinning around, and catching her sword in his gauntlets. "You're quick." He remarked. "But not quick enough!" He shouted as he grabbed the blade and ripped it from her grip, tossing it over his shoulder to the other side of the room. With his other hand he grabbed Riven's neck and squeezed it tightly, lifting her off the ground yet again. He laughed. "So pathetically weak. I guess that's to be expected of a traitor."

Riven was welling with a mix of fear and anger, struggling to breathe. As much as Riven wanted to cut him to bits, she knew she couldn't, she would surely be kicked out of the League for killing a fellow champion. "I'm not a traitor." She managed to force through her clenched throat.

"Darius! We need to go. Now." a familiar voice called. It was Katarina, sitting down at the side of the room watching them. _'How long has she been there?' _Riven thought _'I didn't even notice her.' _

"Aww, but I was just getting to the good part, come on, can't I just break her in half right now?" Darius asked excitedly.

"I was enjoying the show as well, but we need to go." Katarina explained. A serious look was plastered on her face as if she had received grim news.

"Well, traitor, it looks like you get to live to see another day." Darius said as he released his grip on Riven, letting her drop to the floor. He grabbed his axe off the side of the room, and made his exit, closely following Katarina.

The anger inside of Riven grew to a boiling point, and it was at that moment, where she picked her blade up off the floor, that she swore she would have her revenge on Noxus. She would kill them all for what they did to her life, women and children alike. She stormed out of the dojo style room and set out to begin training for her revenge.

The next thing Riven knew, she was outside the town's walls in front of a small patch of trees surrounded by flat land filled with blades of grass that were a vibrant green. The hot sun burned away at her as the day grew old. With a scowl across her face, she recklessly swung at the trees, pushing herself to swing harder, and faster, and to move faster than ever before. She was so occupied with pushing herself that she didn't notice the sound of footsteps crushing the blades of grass behind her.

"What are you doing training out here all by yourself?" A calm but stern feminine voice asked. Riven was caught off guard, she stopped but didn't look to see who it was.

Clouded by her anger, she spout the first thing that came to mind. "It is none of your concern." Riven said.

A few moments of silence passed by, waiting for the woman to speak up again. "We both know that training against trees helps not at all." The voice said.

Riven looked down at her blade as she held it in front of her, looking at her own reflection in the edge of her sword as her thoughts wandered to how nobody would help her. She felt the familiar feeling of loneliness. Trying to hide her sadness, Riven mindlessly said "Don't worry about it." not realizing what she said made no sense as a response to what the woman had told her.

Riven then turned to see who it was. It was the woman she had heard of many times before. Irelia. "Of course." Irelia said as she looked into Riven's eyes. Irelia was glaring at her, just like everybody else did before her, though this glare was filled with something other than hate or fear, something completely foreign to Riven. Riven didn't know what to say, feeling the burning sensation to say something to ease Irelia's glare. Her eyes fell down to the ground as she thought of something to say. When Riven returned her eyes to where Irelia stood, she was no longer there.

_'Where did she go so quickly?' _Riven thought, scanning the area for any trace of the warrior. There was none. _'Irelia, The Will of the Blades, cutting down almost an entire Noxian army by herself at an incredibly young_ age.' Riven had heard Irelia's story many times while eavesdropping in various taverns throughout her travels. _'_She's_ right. I gain nothing by thwacking on trees.' _Riven set off toward the town, and once inside went to one of the outside walls, and began to scale up it.

Throughout Riven's life she had learned to climb just about anything, as she found heights helped to soothe her pain. Riven reached the top, and found a comfy spot that overlooked the town, and even the Institute of War. She felt the cold breeze blow past her as she watched the warm sun set. She sat on an embrasure between a merlon and a watch tower, with her back resting against the watch tower, her gaze set firmly to her right at the sunset. The castle walls were never manned, as not even the great nations combined would ever dare attack the Institute of War. Only the watch towers were manned, and sitting right below one, Riven was well out of sight.

Riven sat there for hours, sorting out the mixed flurry of emotions that swirled inside her. Anger, sadness, loneliness, hate, and most of all, desire. Without moving a muscle in her face, a single tear dripped down her cheek as the pain firmly gripped her heart for yet another night. Despite her best efforts she had only made things worse, and she blamed herself for being too afraid of Darius at first. _'I'm going to kill him, and everyone he ever knew. I care not if I am kicked from the League, I will take my revenge or die trying.' _Riven thought as another tear rolled down the other side of her face, consumed entirely by anger. _'No one will miss me anyway should I fail.' _

Her mind made up, she regained her composure, and climbed down the wall. She traveled back through town. It was well lit by torches, lifting the veil of darkness. She eventually made it back to her room. _'Tomorrow, the first thing I'm going to do is find,' _Riven sat on her bed _'and slay Darius,' _Riven lay down on her bed, and covered herself with her blankets. _'and mercilessly slaughter any Noxian near him. And then I will butcher their families, their friends, and burn their whole nation to ashes.' _Riven's thoughts burned in her head _'They all deserve it for turning my life into what it is.'_ Riven tried to justify her thoughts, but her heart knew it was wrong. Regardless, Riven eagerly awaited for the next day to arrive, confident in her ability to take down an entire nation by herself.


	3. A Graceful Blade

_Note: Hey guys, things are about to heat up and I hope you're as excited as I am as the story finally gets set in motion. As always, show the love or hate by leaving a review, it helps me push myself to make the story better more than you might think. Thanks guys!_

Riven's eyes cracked open as she awoke from a shallow slumber. She didn't sleep as well as she had the night before, but it was better than nothing. She immediately got up and grabbed her broken blade, remembering what had happened yesterday. _'Count the moments, Darius. I'm coming for you.' _She thought as she headed out the door. She felt the anger brewing inside her, and she nurtured it as she walked through the halls of the Institute of War.

She scanned everywhere inside the halls for the tall man who would be the first of many to feel her wrath. He was not in the sparring rooms, or the Study, and Riven could never imagine he would be in the Library. _'Perhaps he was summoned, but matches don't take place until the afternoon. The only other option is he's somewhere around town.'_ Riven thought. She exited the Institute of War, and walked through town. She started checking around the various shops and restaurants, scanning with only her eyes as to not draw attention to herself.

_'If I were an egotistical asshole, where would I be at this early an hour?'_ Riven thought, trying to think of the best place to look for the man. It was at least Three hours until noon, so him eating breakfast or lunch was unlikely. After searching for what felt like hours, Riven fell clueless as to where the man could be. She decided it was best to have a bite to eat while she pondered her next move, and went inside a small tea house. She had a seat at one of the tables and moments later a young woman approached her. "Hi, my name is Linda, and I will be your waitress for today. What can I get you, dear?" The waitress asked in a particularly cheerful tone.

"I'll take some dumplings and a cup of tea, please." Riven said with half her mind pondering where else she could look.

"Coming right up!" Linda said with a small giggle, as she rushed off to the back.

_'Well, I could check the Institute of War again, he may have passed through there by now. Wherever he is, he's likely going to have a couple Noxians with him.' _Riven thought. _'I just hope there isn't too many.'_ Riven crossed one leg over the other and made herself comfy in her chair.

Minutes later, Linda came back with Riven's order in hand, and placed it in front of her. "Enjoy your meal, ma'am." Linda said with a warm smile, and started to walk away.

"Excuse me." Riven grabbed Linda's attention. "Do you know anything of the whereabouts of a man named Darius?" Riven asked her with a serious look on her face, desperate for any kind of knowledge that might lead her to Darius.

"Oh, you mean that tall, handsome Noxian who carries around the axe? He just left no more than 10 minutes before you arrived." Linda said, smiling after she was done talking.

"What!? Do you know where he went, or where he might be now!?" Riven demanded, standing up from her seat.

Linda was nervous by Riven's serious tone. "Well, he wasn't alone, he was talking to a red headed girl. They were talking about some kind of mission they were about to embark on assigned by the highest powers of Noxus itself, and then left. I'm afraid that's all I know." Linda explained.

Within moments of hearing this, Riven's food was safely in her stomach. She left more than enough money to cover her bill and scrambled out the exit. "Keep the change!" She shouted as she ran out the door. Riven heard a startled but excited 'Thank you' as she left. _'There's not much time, it wouldn't take them long to reach the front gates from here.' _Riven thought as she bolted down the streets toward the main gate as fast as her legs could carry her.

Riven could finally see the front gates. Her eyes set upon Darius and Katarina walking side by side as they were walking through the main intersection of the front of town, walking toward the large gates of the town. Riven sprinted up behind them. Although Riven was a traitor to many, she was definitely not dishonorable, and refused to employ a surprise attack. "DARIUS!" Riven shouted as loud as she could to get his attention. Darius and Katarina stopped simultaneously, and turned around to face Riven.

"What do you want?" Darius asked with a serious tone. Riven's face scrunched up with anger as she prepared herself.

Riven stopped in her tracks, about Twenty feet from Darius and Katarina. "I wish to challenge you to a duel. Right here. Right now." Riven demanded. Darius just stared at her for a moment.

"We don't have time for this, we need to get going." Katarina said to Darius.

"Go on ahead, Katarina, I'll catch up. It's obvious this brat didn't learn the last time." Darius said without breaking eye contact with Riven.

Katarina just looked at him for a few moments. "Alright, fine, just make it quick." She said as she turned and started walking toward the main gates.

Several moments of silence fell between the two, before Darius broke it. "You're pretty foolish to try and fight me after you got trashed just yesterday, I hope you'll at least use a real sword this time." He said, taunting Riven

Riven ignored him, and slowly drew her broken blade.

"Well if you insist on using a worthless blade, be my guest, but let me ask you this. Why do you use that broken blade even after all these years?" Darius questioned as he drew his axe.

Riven was silent for a couple seconds before giving him her answer. "A blade mirrors its owner." She said blandly.

Darius scoffed at her response. Riven had had enough. She gripped the blade tightly and charged at the tall man, swinging it as hard as she could. Darius blocked it with the large metal handle of his axe, gripping it firmly with both hands. Riven lifted her blade off his axe, and swept it sideways, swiping across his chest. Darius managed to block that attack too, however.

Darius then shifted his weight forward, released his right hand off his axe and shoved Riven away with his right arm, using his momentum to empower his shove. Riven skid on her feet back a few meters. Darius was using the breathing room he had created to swing his mighty axe at her. Riven weaved to the right, knowing a heavy axe such as his could not change the course of its attack once initiated. The axe landed beside her where she had just stood, embedding itself into the landscape. Riven seized the opportunity and charged at Darius again.

She swung her sword, aiming for his face, as she intended to drive it through his skull. Darius simply lifted his arm and blocked her attack with his gauntlets. Once the blade had been stopped, Darius immediately grabbed Riven by her collar, and threw her off to the side. She landed on her back, but quickly got to her feet, only to find Darius had retrieved the axe from the ground. Riven was panting heavily as Darius was still cool as a cucumber.

"Well to be honest you don't look very broken to me." Darius broke the silence. "I'll make sure I fix that, though. Because you're still far too weak to ever hope to beat me." Darius said with a chuckle. The anger inside Riven grew to enormous levels as Darius taunted her.

"Shut up!" Riven shouted as she felt her emotions take over as she dumped all of her emotional pain into her blade. Riven felt every ounce of anger, hate, and sadness go surging into the blade with stunning ferocity. Riven screamed with sheer hatred as her blade had reforged itself right in front of them, becoming whole again. It glowed and hummed with runic power, tripling in size. She charged at Darius without hesitation.

She closed the distance between herself and Darius twice as quick, and battered her sword into Darius's last second block twice as hard. Again she lifted her sword and slashed a different direction, only to be met by yet another block, but she could feel Darius was becoming overwhelmed by her sudden spike in speed and power. She lifted her sword, and swung as hard as she could to strike Darius from the right, but she missed.

Darius made a small leap backwards in an attempt to create distance. Riven wouldn't have it, as she dashed forward and drove her blade in an upward slash from her left. Riven's sword caught in the neck of Darius's axe, and the sheer momentum of the blow forced it from his hands, sending it flying away from them. The force of the impact sent Darius back about six meters. He landed on his back, and Riven knew she had won.

"NOW DIE!" Riven shouted at the top of her lungs as she prepared to finish him with her Windslash. With as much strength as she could muster, she gripped the blade tight and began to swing it in Darius's direction.

Irelia appeared out of nowhere in front of her for a moment, glaring at Riven, before springing into action. With one hand, Irelia stopped Riven's mighty momentum in its tracks by gripping Riven's hand and locking her arm in place. _'Impossible!'_ Riven thought. Irelia made a low sweeping kick, and once Riven's blade had come to a halt, Irelia let go of her grip. As soon as Riven was swept off her feet, Irelia used the same hand she used to stop the blade, and shoved her as hard as she could. Riven flew back a few meters and landed on her back.

Riven lie motionless for a second in disbelief. _'How? With one sweeping motion she defused my most powerful attack, all in the blink of an eye, and with just her bare hands.__'_ Riven sat up to see the warrior standing tall in an aggressive stance, facing away from Riven. _'This girl.'_ Riven thought to herself, she felt fresh anger arise by her interference.

"I've seen and heard quite enough out of either of you!" Irelia said angrily as if this were the fifth fight she had broken up today. Riven looked back at her blade to see it had re-assumed its broken state.

Darius got up, and walked over to his axe to pick it up, and then glared at Riven menacingly. "I'll be sure not to underestimate you next time, Traitor." Darius said, as he started to make his hasty retreat out the main gates to catch up to Katarina. Riven was bitter, she had Darius dead until Irelia showed up.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU STOP ME!?" Riven shouted at the woman who stood before her, no longer in her aggressive stance. Irelia slowly turned her head and glared at Riven out of the corner of her eye.

"You're lucky I didn't interfere sooner." Irelia said, almost as if it were a threat.

"THAT DOESN'T ANSWER WHY YOU INTERFERED!" Riven shouted, anger written across her face.

"You were about to kill him." Irelia responded simply.

Riven let out a small growl as she got to her feet. "What I do to him is my business, not yours!." She shouted yet again.

Irelia let go of her gaze and returned her eyes forward, remaining silent for several moments. "You know, for a swords-woman of your reputation, I really expected more out of you." Irelia said, before starting to walk away from Riven.

Riven was offended, however, she couldn't help but think to herself for a moment. _'I guess Jarvan wasn't kidding when he said everyone knew who I was.'_ Riven thought. After a few moments of silence caused by Riven's self induced distraction, she returned her focus. "How could you expect more out of me if I won!?" Riven argued.

Irelia ignored her, continuing to walk away from her.

"HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Riven said angrily.

Irelia didn't bat an eye as she created more distance between the two of them.

Riven couldn't stand being blatantly ignored like that when she talked to people. Riven ran after her for a few steps and then let out four simple words. "Irelia, I challenge you!"

Irelia stopped in her tracks, and seemed to think about it for a few moments. "I accept. Please follow me to the sparring rooms." Irelia said.

_- Minutes later -_

Stepping inside the sparring room that Irelia had lead them to, both warriors stood on opposite ends of the room. Riven had drawn her blade, and Irelia reached into a pouch on her belt over her thigh to pull out a red sphere. She hovered the object over her hand, and suddenly, four blades appeared above her and flew to the sphere's side. Her weapon a whole now, with two blades on either side of the sphere, it floated in mid air at her side.

"I'm not going to go easy on you." Irelia said while looking into Riven's eyes.

"I wouldn't want you to." Riven replied simply.

Irelia was glaring at Riven, waiting for her to act. Riven's face turned into a serious one, and gripped her sword and charged at the young Ionian. Riven began to slash downward as hard as she could, looking into Irelia's eyes to see not even the slightest change in facial expression. Just as quickly as she had appeared out in town, Irelia disappeared. _'So fast.' _Riven thought. Riven slashed through thin air, and before she could even think about her next move, Riven felt the pressure of the tips of two blades resting on her back. Riven turned her head, surely enough to meet Irelia's gaze. '_This girl.__' _Riven thought as she felt the pressure ease off her back as Irelia retrieved her weapon.

"I win." Irelia said without a hint of emotion.

"How?" Riven questioned as she assumed a normal stance, and faced Irelia. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Irelia asked.

"You know exactly what." Riven said.

There was silence for a few seconds. "With hard work and a strong mind." Irelia responded.

Silence fell between the two of them for an extended period, Their gazes locked together firmly. It was clear to Riven that Irelia was special in the way she fought, and Riven could only think of one thing: If she learned how to do that there was no way Noxus could ever stop her.

"Could you teach me to do that?" Riven asked with a serious look on her face.

Irelia turned away from Riven and faced the exit. "You carry too much anger in you as you fight, I cannot teach you." Irelia said as she started to head for the exit.

"Irelia, please teach me, I am willing to do whatever it takes." Riven told her.

Irelia stopped and seemed to weigh her options for what seemed like a full fifteen minutes. Without as much as a glance, Irelia spoke. "Why should I teach you, Riven?"

The room fell silent once more as Riven's eyes trailed off when she realized she had no legitimate reason, other than her own desire for revenge. Riven stood there, trying to come up with a good reason. She pondered the question as if it were life and death until she arrived to her answer.

"Because those stupid trees won't." Riven said, maintaining a serious look on her face.

Riven could see a smirk form on Irelia's face, even though Irelia was facing away from her. "Good answer." Irelia said. Riven then saw the smirk disappear. "Meet me here in this same room tomorrow morning at 0800, sharp. Leave your anger behind as you leave your room tomorrow." Irelia then turned to face Riven, wearing a serious face. "If you're as much as a minute late, I will not help you."

"Understood." Riven said as she grinned.

"Good, I look forward to our meeting tomorrow." Irelia said. Irelia then turned and left Riven to herself.

Riven glanced up at the clock that was on the wall of the hallway. It read 1400. _'It's still early, we could have started today.' _Riven thought. However, she was eager to finally receive some help for once.


	4. Step One

Riven walked down the hall that contained the sparring rooms. It was 0759 on the clock on the wall. She continued to calmly walk down the hallway that was lined with the sliding doors of the sparring rooms themselves, until she came to the one she found herself in just yesterday. Riven had done her best to rid herself of her anger prior to leaving her room, and felt confident she had left it all behind, for now at least. She slid the door to the sparring room open, only to find it empty.

Riven walked inside and slid the door closed behind her, the clock on the wall read 0800. _'I'm right on time, where is she?' _Riven thought. Riven walked to the center of the room and looked around to see if this was some kind of trick. _'I'm sure this is the right room, I'm positive.'_ Riven decided to be patient, and simply wait. Riven was sure she couldn't have been running too late.

The clock turned to 0830, and all of Riven's patience had waned at this point. _'Where the hell is she? If she tricked me into wasting my time I'm gonna be pissed.' _Riven thought. She sighed and then thought about what Irelia had to offer her. _'Calm down, any amount of waiting is going to be well worth it.' _Riven bit the inside of her cheek softly to help calm herself as she sat against the wall opposite of the door, staring at it.

0930, and still no sign of Irelia. Riven couldn't sit still anymore, and got up to start pacing around the room, constantly wondering about the many possibilities of what had happened. Riven was growing angry as the only thing she could think of that seemed reasonable was that Irelia had changed her mind.

The clock struck 1000, and like clockwork, the door opened. Irelia walked through and slid the door closed behind her. "Good morning." Irelia said with a warm smile. Riven glared at her for a few seconds, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"You're two hours late and the only thing you say is 'Good morning'!?" Riven shouted.

"Perhaps you were two hours early. Plus, I thought I made it clear you had to leave your anger behind this morning." Irelia said calmly

"I had done just that until you decided to show up two hours after you told me to be here, what gives!?" She said, incredibly frustrated with the woman.

Irelia let out a sigh and then looked at Riven with a serious face. "I wanted to see how important it was to you, plus it tested your patience under frustrating circumstances. For this training you're going to need every drop of patience you can get your hands on, but it's fairly obvious you're lacking." Irelia explained.

Riven was frustrated, but at the same time relieved that Irelia had shown up at all. "I still don't understand why you had me waste two hours of my day." Riven said, frustration still lingering in her voice.

"I had to make sure I wasn't wasting my own time by helping someone who didn't have the desire to be helped." Irelia said as she glared at Riven "Now if you're done, we can begin with the first step." Irelia said as she walked over to the side of the room.

Riven sighed, and wiped away what frustration she could. "Alright, so what's the plan." Riven asked.

"The first thing you need to do is understand just what you're getting yourself into." Irelia said, wearing an incredibly serious face. "If, after I'm finished, you think the task is too great for you to accomplish, save both of us the time and leave."

"Alright, I'm listening." Riven said as she crossed her arms.

Irelia smirked, and then began her explanation. "Normally, there are five steps to the process. However, for you, there are six steps. Each step of the way, even the first, will ask the seemingly impossible of you. And with every step I will ask you to perform increasingly impossible tasks. Riven, this training is not physically strenuous, but it will bend your mental strength to it's limit every day for months. It is very likely that along the way that mental strength will shatter, it has happened to many who attempted the training before you. Should your mental strength fail, you could very well go insane, quite literally. However, if you succeed, the rewards are well worth it. You will become one of the greatest warriors of our time." Irelia said. A couple moments of silence fell before Irelia gave Riven the ultimatum. "Do you think you can do the impossible six times in a row?" Irelia asked.

Riven smiled. "You're damn right I do." She said confidently. "Just tell me what the first step is so we can get started."

Irelia looked at her for a few moments, and then turned to one of the wooden weapon racks in the corner of the room, walked over, and picked up two wooden short swords, and then returned to her spot. "The first step is focus, but it comes in two parts. You must learn to recognize even the slightest hint of movement in your opponent. To do this you must focus on your opponent to levels far beyond what you consider possible. Once you learn to focus you will be able to tell what direction they went. You must then learn to recognize how to follow that opponent long enough to figure out what their course of action will be. While you won't be able to see your opponent's movements clearly, you will just know what they're up to. I know it sounds confusing, but it won't make sense until you succeed." Irelia finally finished.

"Easy enough, but I get the feeling you have something in particular you want me to do." Riven said without a hint of doubt

Irelia smiled. "You're right, there is something I want you to do." Irelia continued to explain. "Here's what I'm going to have you do." Irelia tossed one of the wooden short swords over to Riven, which Riven caught. "Take that short sword, and I'm going to attempt to attack you. I want you to block my attacks. Only when you manage to block five of my attacks in a row in quick succession will you have accomplished the first step of your training."

Riven's confidence waned somewhat at hearing she would have to learn how to block Irelia's incredible speed. Riven then erased the doubt in her mind, and smiled. She raised her short sword in a defensive stance. "Alright, I'm ready to begin." Riven said while staring at Irelia, trying to focus her mind.

Irelia smiled, and then worked her way into an aggressive stance. Irelia stopped, and didn't move for at least a full minute. Riven stared intently at Irelia, waiting for even the slightest hint she would begin moving. Riven blinked, and when she opened her eyes again she felt a jab in her side, and then realized Irelia was no longer standing there. She looked over to see Irelia had poked her wooden short sword in her side. _'What the hell, I blink and suddenly she's beside me.'_ Riven thought to herself.

"You blinked. That's a big mistake." Irelia said as she retracted her short sword

"You were just standing there doing nothing, of course I'm going to blink." Riven explained

Irelia sighed, then tapped Riven on the head with the tip of her short sword. "Riven, this style of fighting I'm teaching you has fights finished in the time that someone can blink. When you blink, your focus wavers, and you are essentially blindfolding yourself for the rest of that fight. Don't blink, EVER, while fighting someone." Irelia stressed.

Riven could only nod. "Understood. No blinking." She said.

Irelia returned to where she had stood just moments ago, both warriors re-assumed their respective stances. Riven stared intently on Irelia yet again, forcing her eyes open to prevent herself from blinking. Irelia was then within arm's reach in front of her, and lightly poked Riven in the stomach. Riven sighed.

"Now you're trying too hard _not _to blink. Your focus was so intent on making sure you didn't blink that you didn't have enough focus on your opponent." Irelia explained.

Riven was already growing frustrated. "This seems incredibly tedious." Riven complained.

"It's more tedious than you could imagine. I told you this would not be easy. Now try to balance your focus between your bodily actions and myself. Only when you find balance will you be able to block my attacks. However, if you even breathe too heavily I can slip through unnoticed." Irelia said. She backed up to her starting position and prepared to strike again.

Riven decided to let her mind go numb, and let her body function autonomously while resting her gaze on Irelia, making sure not to blink. She saw Irelia shift ever so slightly to the right, it was incredibly subtle but she definitely saw it. Riven then felt the familiar feeling of the jab of Irelia's wooden short sword. Riven looked over to face Irelia as a small grin formed on her face. "I saw something. I saw you, ever so slightly, shift to the right before you poked me." Riven said

"Good, but it's not good enough. You must be able to see _much _more than a subtle shift before you can even start to think about blocking." Irelia said. "Again!" Irelia commanded as she appeared back to her starting position.

_- Five days later -_

The clock read 1814, and Riven was weary from the day's training, but had no intention of showing it. Riven stood before Irelia in their usual positions, Riven was focusing as hard as she could. Irelia and Riven were just staring at each other, when Riven saw Irelia shift to the right. She could follow it further, but could not keep up. She felt Irelia's wooden short sword poke her again. Riven was growing increasingly impatient, despite her improvement she still had only blocked one of Irelia's attacks out of them all, and Riven considered it to have been luck. Irelia saw Riven beginning to get discouraged.

"Riven, stop that." Irelia said.

"Stop what?" Riven asked.

"Doubting yourself." Irelia said after a short pause. "If you can really see what you're telling me you can see, then you are making good progress." Irelia then smiled at her. Riven couldn't help but smile back.

"Thanks." Riven said. "Now come on, we're wasting time." She said, eager to prove she could do it.

"Right." Irelia said as she reverted back to her starting position.

Riven made a full mental reset as she put on a serious face, turning her attention to Irelia. She was focused intently on Irelia, when she had finally seen it. Irelia shifted to the left, and Riven followed a faint shadow of a figure as it came up from her left. _Clunk._ She saw it swerve to the right. _Clunk._ To the left again. _Clunk. _To the left even further, but before Riven's body could move, she felt the familiar jab of the wooden object on her back.

Riven slowly turned her head to Irelia, wearing a stupid grin on her face. Irelia was grinning as well. "Well done." Irelia said.

"I Don't even know what happened. I just saw you move in a blur, and my body moved without my command." Riven explained excitedly.

"It seems like you are close to completing the first step. You won't be able to consciously react until you complete step two, so for now you will have to rely on instinct to guide your sword. Up to this point I have only been making simple strikes, so that your body would be able to block me." Irelia explained as best she could. "It shouldn't be long now, as the only reason you failed to block me the fourth time was because your focus fell behind as you attempted to block consciously. In fact the mistake you made was so small I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled it off the very next try." Irelia said confidently.

"So don't even think about reacting at this point, my body will just do it for me?" Riven questioned.

"Mostly correct, the only thing you need to think about as far as reaction is your eyes. You must react to, and track my movements, and then your body will naturally follow up." Irelia explained.

"Got it." Riven said, her voice audibly swelling with confidence.

Irelia then took on a very serious face, and tapped Riven on the head with her wooden sword like she always did when Riven said something Irelia didn't like. "Stop right where you are with the overconfidence train. Overconfidence will only reverse your progress, you must always remain level-headed. Do exactly what you did last time except let your body flow. And for the record, you don't 'Got it' until you do it." Irelia lectured.

Riven hated it when she did that, but it always worked. "Alright." Riven said simply.

Irelia appeared over by her starting position again, and Riven began to focus once more. She did exactly as before, and focused intently on Irelia, drowning everything out. She saw Irelia move to the right again in a blur of motion. She could see everything slightly better, almost as if time had slowed down just a tad. _Clunk._ She saw Irelia jump to the right. _Clunk_. To the left. _Clunk_. to the right again. _Clunk_. _'behind.'_ Riven thought as she heard the final clunk. The blur of motion disappeared.

Riven found herself holding her wooden short sword in front of her, slanted slightly in a block. Riven looked around, to see Irelia standing back at her starting position wearing a warm smile, arms crossed proudly. Riven was swelling with pride as she smiled the biggest smile she's felt in a very long time._  
_

"Congratulations, you have completed the first step." Irelia said, still wearing her smile. Irelia's smile then vanished. "However, the next step will be even harder, and it only gets harder from there. This is just the beginning." Irelia stressed.

Riven's smile vanished as well with that. Her eyes trailed off to the floor. _'I worked all day every day for five days straight, and It only gets harder? Irelia was right, this is no easy task.' _Riven thought to herself as the weight of the challenges ahead began to sink in.

Irelia immediately felt a little guilty about spoiling Riven's moment of accomplishment. _'She completed in five days what took me two weeks, she should definitely not be upset right now, it's an incredibly hard task and she did it rather easily. Maybe only because of my tutelage, but still, she needs to feel good about completing this first step.' _Irelia thought to herself.

"Hey, Riven." Irelia said calmly.

"Yeah?" Riven asked as she looked up at Irelia, expecting to begin the next step immediately.

Irelia smiled at her. "How about some dinner to celebrate your completion of the first step? My treat." She said

Riven's eyes lit up, and she couldn't even attempt to hide the enormous smile that crept onto her face, she couldn't even remember the last time someone had treated her to dinner. "Yeah, I'd like that." Riven said, trying to contain her excitement.

"Well, then. Let's go." Irelia said. The warriors returned the wooden short swords to their racks, and then left out the door of the sparring room. Riven walked quickly in toe behind Irelia, wondering where they were going to go eat.

Riven followed Irelia through town until they arrived at a fancy restaurant. "Here we are." Irelia said as she walked for the door.

Once inside, Irelia walked up to the hostess. "Two, please." Irelia said with a kind tone.

"Right this way." The hostess said as she lead them through the restaurant. Riven was speechless with the quality of the atmosphere, it was absolutely exquisite. "Here you are, a table for two." The hostess said politely. Riven and Irelia sat down at their table, and Riven instantly started sifting through her menu.

"You sure seem hungry." Irelia remarked with a smile.

Riven looked up at her. "Not really, I just can't believe the food they have here, it all just looks so good." Riven said excitedly. "How can you afford this?" Riven questioned.

"I was summoned plenty last season, so I have a little bit of spare change." Irelia said as she cracked open the menu and started to look through it herself.

"Oh yeah, why haven't there been any matches lately?" Riven questioned, looking up from her menu, waiting for Irelia's response.

"Riven, last season ended only two months ago, we still have about two more months until the start of the next season. I thought you knew this." Irelia said, a little bit shocked at Riven's lack of knowledge.

"I didn't get the memo." Riven said as she started scanning through her menu again. "Say, what do you think the chances are of me completing my training before the start of next season?" Riven asked with a smile.

The answer was obvious to Irelia. "It might be possible, you never know." Irelia said, for the sake of the moment.

Riven closed her menu, and just looked at Irelia. "You're not very good at lying." Riven said with a smile.

Irelia just smiled. "Well, then, I guess I'm fortunate that I don't need to lie to be good in a fight." She responded. A minute or two of silence fell between the two of them. "So, tell me a bit about yourself Riven." Irelia said, trying to break the silence.

Riven's eyes trailed off. "there's not much to tell, I'm afraid." She said, looking back at Irelia and smiling to try and maintain the upbeat mood.

Irelia just gave Riven a look. "You're not very good at lying yourself." Irelia said in a playful tone.

Riven just let out a small laugh to try and brush off the subject.

After they had ordered their food, it didn't take long for it to arrive. Riven spent no time hesitating before digging in. Everything was pretty quiet once they started eating, and they could both feel a sense of awkwardness.

"So, Irelia, tell me more about your weapon, how does it work?" Riven asked, trying to shove the elephant out of the room.

"You mean this?" Irelia asked as she reached into her pouch and pulled out her red sphere. "I'm not really sure why to be honest, but it just seems to follow my every command. However, I do know that the four blades that accompany it are on a special weapon rack in my room. All I have to do is send an impulse to the sphere and it summons the blades." Irelia said as she put her sphere back into her pouch.

"What if you lose the sphere?" Riven questioned.

"I just think about the sphere in my head, and it rushes to my hand." Irelia said simply.

"I see." Riven said as she dug into her plate further.

The two warriors sat in silence as they finished their plates, interrupted by a little bit of small talk here and there, while trying to avoid the upcoming training. As promised, Irelia paid for the both of them, and tipped generously as well. The two walked outside, stomachs full and satisfied.

"Alright, well we can start on step two first thing tomorrow." Irelia said as she started walking back to the Institute of War. Riven just stood there outside the restaurant, motionless. Irelia took notice and looked behind her. "What's wrong?" Irelia questioned, a little concerned.

"You can go on back, Irelia, I have something I need to do." Riven said. Riven then walked up to Irelia. "But I greatly appreciate your help, and the dinner was amazing, so I just wanted to thank you." Riven said with a smile.

Irelia just giggled. "There's no reason to thank me, that's what friends are for, right?" Irelia said, smiling.

Riven felt a large amount of heat rush to her face as her eyes widened. Throughout all of their training, Riven had not once considered the possibility of Irelia being a friend. Riven immediately smiled back nervously. "Of course. I forgot." Riven said, flattered that someone had called her their friend. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Irelia, I should be going."

"Alright then. Good night, Riven." Irelia said, as she began to walk off towards the Institute of War.

"Good night." Riven said, as she turned the other way and started walking.

Riven sat atop the wall of the town. The same place she had sat the first night, with a pleased smile on her face. She almost missed it for another night. As the day drew to a close, Riven watched as the sun slipped below the horizon. The night grew bliss and peaceful, and for the first time in a very long time, Riven felt content with her life.


End file.
